A PROJECT WORK

ON
INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION
OF
DTH INDUSTRY
Submitted in the partial fulfillment of the requirements of the subject of
Integrated Marketing Communication
of
Masters of Business Administration (SEM-IV)

Under the Guidance of: Prof. Chandan Thakur

Submitted by:
Debasis Panigrahy – 9202251
Biswajit Das – 9202264
Merza Suraj Mamin – 9202241
Rajib Lochan Sahoo – 9202226
Subhashree Priyadarshini Panda – 9202202
Srikant Kishore Sahoo - 9202247

KIIT SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

KIIT UNIVERSITY, BHUBANESWAR - 751024
Industry Overview

After a slow start, the DTH market in India is fuelled by fierce Competition between the
incumbent Dish TV and challenger Tata Sky, plus several new entrants, but pricing and
exclusivity remain key Contentious issues.

History:

The history of Indian Television dates back to the launch of Doordarshan, the country„s national
television network in 1959 when the transmission was in black & white. The 9th Asian games
which were held in 1982 in the country„s capital New Delhi heralded the mark of colour
television broadcast in India.

In 1991, Indian economy was liberalised from the license raj and major initiatives like inviting
FDI, deregulation of domestic businesses emerged. This led to the influx of foreign channels like
Star TV and creation of domestic satellite channels like Sun TV and Zee TV. This virtually
destroyed the monopoly held by Doordarshan.

In 1992, the cable TV industry started which changed the way the average Indian watches the
television. Every city in India had a new breed of entrepreneurs called as cable wallahs or Local
Cable Operators (LCO) taking in charge of distribution. Since this was a disorganized sector
carrying new channels on the existing infrastructure required new investments which the
operators were reluctant to make. This led to the emergence of a new breed of firms called as
Multi System Operators (MSO) who had heavy financial muscles to make capital investments
and liaised between the cable operators and the channels. MSOs provide the feed to the local
operators for a fee.

In 1995, government felt the need of regulation in Cable TV and passed the Cable TV network
(Regulation) Act. This was also the time when the state owned Doordarshan and All India Radio
came under a new holding called as Prasar Bharati to give them enough autonomy.
Market Share:

Current Scenario:

In the current context of the global financial meltdown, the Direct to Home (DTH) industry in
India is in the throes of multifarious challenges and opportunities.

The big game„ is all about shaping up grandiose plans to master the winning rules to garner as
much portion of the Indian DTH pie as possible by a handful of players.

Since the DTH space denotes big value„, akin to the space occupied by television and telephony,
inter-firm rivalries have thrown up price wars, discount schemes, procurement of transponders,
ambitious targets for improving the subscription base, popular bouquet of channels, set top boxes
with superior quality of videos, improving content, etc as a desperate means to entice the Indian
viewer. A neat 20 per cent annual growth is being witnessed in the DTH sector in India with over
16 million households having digital pay-TV.

According to Harsh Bijoor, a brand consultant, ―Since Dish TV, the biggest market player on
the Indian soil, has not scraped even five per cent of the pie, there is plenty left for other players
to eat.

In the early 2008, five major players, Zee„s Dish TV, Tata Sky, Reliance ADAG, Sun Direct and
Bharti Telemedia formed an umbrella body – DTH Operators Association of India (DOAI). Dish
TV is the largest DTH provider with a subscriber base of around 5 million, Tata Sky, a DTH
joint-venture Company between Star (owned by Rupert Murdoch) and the Tata Group (20:80),
now has around 3.4 million connections and the forecast for 2012 is that it will further increase
to eight million, Sun Direct, the 80:20 JV between the Maran family and the Astro Group of
Malaysia, over 2.3 million, Big Tv about 1.2 million and Airtel Digital Tv about 0.3 million
subscribers (Source: Business Standard, May 1, 2009). According to sources, DD Direct Plus has
a subscriber base of about 3-4 million subscribers, mostly in the remote corners of the country
not connected by terrestrial or cable television.

How it work:

Trajectory of Digital Medium:

Dish TV

DTH service was launched back in 2004 by launching of Dish TV by Essel Group's Zee
Entertainment Enterprises. Dish TV is on the same satellite where DD Direct+ is. Dish TV
started its service in Pakistan with the collaboration of Budget Communication.

Dish TV was only DTH operator in India to carry the two Turner channels Turner Classic
Movies and Boomerang. Both the channels were removed from the platform due to unknown
reasons in March 2009.

Dish TV is a DTH satellite television provider in India, using MPEG-2 digital compression
technology, transmitting using NSS Satellite at 95.0. Dish Tv's managing director and Head Of
Business is Jawahar Goel who is also the promoter of Essel Group and is also the President of
Indian Broadcasting Foundation

It is a division of Zee Network Enterprise (Essel Group Venture). EGV has national and global
presence with business interests in media programming, broadcasting & distribution, speciality
packaging and entertainment. Zee Network incorporated Dish TV to modernize TV viewing.
Dish TV is India„s first direct to home (DTH) entertainment service. By digitalizing Indian
entertainment, this enterprise brought best television viewing technology to the living room. It
not only transmits high quality programmes through satellite; but also gives a complete control
of selecting channels and paying for them.

It imparts DVD quality picture and stereophonic sound effects to the customers. It promises to
change the experience of TV viewing with its uninterrupted transmission service. The endeavour
enters next level of entertainment with futuristic features, such as EPG (Electronic Programme
Guide),

parental lock, games, 400 channels, interactive TV and movie on demand. Dish TV also brings
exclusive national and international channels for the first time in India.

Mission - To place the satellite dish in every home, school and business throughout the world.

Market - Dish TV‟s current market share is at 31-32%, and it is aiming to dish out 3.5mn
subscribers in FY11 and is going to maintain, grow and create a dynamic atmosphere for greater
customer satisfaction and adoption of this category.
Measurement- Dish TV India Limited reported first quarter fiscal 2011 standalone revenues
of Rs. 3112 million, representing a strong 23.4 % growth over the corresponding period last
fiscal. EBITDA was Rs.391 million, a robust increase of 85.3 % while the net loss reduced to Rs.
631 million, as compared to Rs. 692 million in the corresponding quarter last fiscal. During The
FIFA World Cup 2010 turned out to be a big draw and resulted in increased DTH activations on
a Pan-India basis. The activations for the month of June were an approximate 240 thousand
recording a huge 83% growth over the corresponding period last year.

Q1 FY 11 operating revenues stood at Rs. 3112 million, an increase of 23.4% as compared to

the corresponding period last fiscal.
EBITDA was Rs. 391 million, up 85.3%. EBITDA margin improved to 12.6% from 8.4 % in
the corresponding period last fiscal.
Content cost as a percentage of revenue stood at a new low of 40%.
Total gross subscriber base stood at 7.5 million while the net subscriber base as on June 30,
2010 was 6.2 million. Churn recorded at 0.7% per month.
Dish TV continued to lead with a total market share of over 33% in a 6 operator market
scenario.

Media- The media used were mainly tele media, print media, roadshows.

Poster:
Banner:

Crowner:

Dangler:

Shelf stickers & shelf mat:

Glow box:
In-shop branding:

Message - The theme will be more value for money to the customers, enhanced value for the
stakeholders of the Company in terms of revenue, number of subscribers and quality of service
TATA Sky

In the year 2004 Tata Sky was incorporated but was launched only in 2006. It is a joint venture
between the Tata Group, that owns 80% and STAR Group that owns a 20% stake It currently
offers close to 196 channels (as of December 2010) and some interactive ones; this count
includes some numbers off HD channels offered by Tata Sky (as Tata Sky - HD) and interactive
services also. The company uses the Sky brand owned by British Sky Broadcasting.

In October 2008, Tata Sky announced launching of DVR service Tata Sky+ ( Tata Sky+ is a
premium set-top box-cum-Personal Video Recorder or even known as DVR Digital Video
Recorder that allows recording up to 130 hours of live TV, recording one programme while
watching another, pause, fast forward and rewind a live telecast and review a TV programme.
Also Tata Sky+28 provides service using MPEG-4 digital compression technology.) which
allowed 90 hours of recording in a MPEG-4 compatible Set Top Box. The remote is provided
with playback control keys and is being sold with special offers for existing subscribers.

In 2008, Singapore-based Temasek Holdings picked up 10% stake in Tata Sky from the Tata
Group. This has diluted Tata's stake in the venture to 75%. STAR‟s parent company, News
Corporation, owns an International group of DTH businesses that include Sky Italia in Italy and
Foxtel in Australia. Tata Sky's MD & CEO Vikram Kaushik. Vikram Kaushik has more than 30
years experience in consumer sales and marketing. He worked for some of India‟s largest
international companies, and has participated in their operations in Asia, Europe and the US.

Mission: Create buzz among Target Group with refreshing communication that Tata Sky is
Connecting every television home, Empowering every television viewer, Revolutionising home
entertainment through its tagline “ Ishko laga dala, toh life jingalala”. It has a mission to add 3.5
million more to its customer list.
Market: Existing and potential customers of Tata Sky throughout India. It targeted mainly
urban customers but also targeted the rural markets. Its stakeholders are Current customers,
Distributors, Employees, Mr. Harit Nagpal (CEO), Government, Mr. Aamir Khan (Brand
Ambassador), NDS, Kenan, Siebel, SAP, ISRO, Sun Microsystems, Thomas and Humax, TCS,

Message: Conveying that TataSky is an innovator and the first to offer the latest technology
Media:

Tata Sky has adopted a 360 degree marketing campaign approach that encapsulates television,
print, outdoor and radio along with on-ground activities and marketing on the digital platform.

Posters:

Banners:
Crowner and danglers:

Glow box:

In-shop branding:

Measurement:

Subscriber base expected to increase 1 million each year to reach 8.0 million by 2011

DTH business is expected to grow from Rs 0.19 billion in FY2007 to Rs 3.84 billion in 2011

Likely to achieve EBITDA margins of 25% by 2011, from negative EBITDA margins in
FY2007 of Rs. 0.18 billion

Funding over the next 4 years – Rs. 20 billion through a mix of debt and equity

Break-even expected by FY2010-11

AIRTEL Digital:

Airtel digital launched on 8th October, 2008 with a 360 degree mega campaign "Come Home to
the Magic". Since that it has launched 2 other campaigns 'Stars come home' (March 2009) and
'DTH Picture Clarity' (August 2009) has increased its channel base to 183+ channels. Airtel
digital TV is now amongst the fastest growing DTH brands in the country and is available across
5000+ towns in India. It has also been ranked as the best DTH service by "Living Digital"
magazine t is the brand name for Bharti Airtel's DTH service in India. It uses MPEG-4 digital
compression with DVB-S2 technology, transmitting using INSAT 4CR 74°E and SES 7 108.2°E.
Airtel digital TV service was launched on 8 October 2008.

The campaign on the High -Definition TV:

Initially, the campaign is being launched on English, Hindi and South regional channels. With
the cricket fever on its peak in March, the campaign will focus on cricket only. airtel digital TV
is one of the associate sponsors on air for the world cup.

The objective of the campaign is to drive preference for airtel digital TV amongst people for
whom TV is the main source of entertainment and who have/currently contemplating a HD
television. The campaign is targeted to the audience in Tier 1 & 2 markets (SEC AB, Males 25+)
with high LCD penetration.

Mission: To increase revenue and attract existing and potential customers for more usage by
creating a cohesion of the brands.
Market: Existing and potential customers of Airtel throughout India. It targeted mainly
educated urban customers in different towns, cities and metropolitans. Its stakeholders are
Yahoo, Reliance Broadcast Network ltd, CBS Studios International allowing for wide reach of
its channels, UTV Indiagames for multi screen gaming a reality
Message: Conveyed various offers and new technologies being introduced through its ads.
Media: The media used were mainly telemedia, printmedia, roadshows.

Posters:

Bus shelter:

Banners:

Danglers:
Glow box:

Shelf mat & shelf strip:

Standy:

Display umbrella:

In-Shop Display:
Results: